Upon seeing Luo Yangxing, the scholars present all looked rather grim.
In recent months, Luo Yangxing, the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, has not had a good reputation.
Because he was the one who sent people to arrest the Donglin Party members, the people had no good words for him.
Luo Yangxing's bad reputation has almost surpassed that of Liu Jin and Wang Zhen, and he is on the verge of becoming the second Wei Zhongxian.
Luo Yangxing himself knew this, of course, and he felt wronged: "I, Luo Yangxing, am not a eunuch, why are they putting me with those people?"
Therefore, he did not treat these scholars with any kindness.
Seeing that the group remained silent, he simply let out a cold snort.
When he saw that the scholars were trembling from his intimidation, he nodded in satisfaction and approached Shi Kefa:
"Scholar Shi, what do you say?"
Shi Kefa, however, was not intimidated.
He said coldly, "Who is a villain and who is a virtuous minister? The whole world can see it and remember it. Why do I need to say more?"
Luo Yangxing was met with a cold shoulder, which made him even angrier.
However, he couldn't lose his temper with Shi Kefa, so he could only get down to business:
"Shi Kefa, haven't you been criticizing General Li lately?"
"His Majesty is aware of this matter, and he is magnanimous, so he has asked you to accompany him to the victory presentation ceremony tomorrow."
"Let me show you with my own eyes whether the imperial troops have won the battle!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Kefa was quite moved.
"Does His Majesty really say that?"
After Luo Yangxing nodded, Shi Kefa jumped up.
"Okay! Then I'll go with you!"
In his view, tomorrow's ceremony is bound to be a laughing stock.
He could then take the opportunity to advise the emperor, which would be much more effective.
Luo Yangxing could guess what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.
He chuckled to himself, "Heh heh, this kid will probably be the one making a fool of himself!"
But he said nothing, only nodded:
"Alright, then come with me now."
The scholars in the restaurant finally breathed a sigh of relief after the two of them left one after the other.
"Hmph! That treacherous Luo Yangxing is quite imposing!"
"Hmph, that traitor ran away so fast. I had already prepared my speech to give him a good scolding, but before I could even open my mouth, he actually got away!" someone boasted.
Although the others knew the truth, they chimed in, "It's probably because Luo Yangxing heard of your great name, Brother Liu, that's why he ran so fast."
"By the way, are we still going to hold this joint petition?"
After Shi Kefa was taken away, the remaining scholars became somewhat timid.
The moment those words were spoken, the restaurant fell silent.
The scholars looked around, hoping that a new scapegoat would step forward and become the first to stick their neck out.
But they waited for a long time, and no one spoke.
So some people made an excuse to leave.
Before long, the group had all left.
Just then, a waiter from the restaurant suddenly ran over, stamping his foot and cursing, "These bastards, how come they ran off without even paying for their meal?"
"And they're supposed to be scholars who passed the imperial examinations!"
After Shi Kefa was taken away, he was immediately arranged to live next to the palace.
The next day, before dawn, he was dragged out of bed by several eunuchs.
"Scholar Shi, get up quickly, the procession is about to depart."
Shi Kefa shook his head hurriedly, and it took him a moment to fully regain his senses.
He asked, bewildered, "Setting off so early?"
The eunuchs laughed and said, "Haha, Scholar Shi, you really like to joke. This ceremony is being held in the east of the city. It would take at least an hour to walk there from the capital."
"If we don't set off now, won't we be late?"
Shi Kefa understood and quickly got up.
But after getting up, he asked again:
"And what about His Majesty?"
Has he gotten up?
Upon hearing this, the eunuchs laughed and said, "Our Emperor is the most diligent. He usually gets up very early for the morning court session, let alone today?"
"His Majesty went to Taiye Pond to see Master Gao, and should be back by now."
Shi Kefa initially nodded with a smile.
"With Your Majesty's diligence in governing, it seems that the revival of our Great Ming Dynasty is in sight."
But when he heard Master Gao's name, his face darkened.
"Hmph, so Master Gao actually lives in the palace?"
The eunuchs, not understanding what was going on, nodded and said:
"Of course!"
"Moreover, recently His Majesty has ordered the construction of many palaces around Taiye Pond, and they are almost finished."
“If you pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi in the future, you might have the chance to see that place again.”
"That place is really beautiful..."
The eunuchs praised him, but Shi Kefa became even angrier.
"To waste so much public funds on a mere charlatan!"
"No, I must persuade the emperor to stop it once I see him!"
Shi Kefa, preoccupied with his own thoughts, was taken away by the eunuch and soon met Zhu Youjian.
However, upon seeing the emperor, Shi Kefa became speechless, and half of the prepared speech he had just prepared vanished instantly.
Zhu Youjian glanced back, shook his head, and smiled:
"Scholar Shi, what's wrong with you?"
"Could it be that he's like Qin Wuyang, unable to speak when he sees the emperor? Haha."
Seeing the emperor so approachable, Shi Kefa felt even more bewildered. After a long while, he finally came to his senses and, gritting his teeth, advised:
"Your Majesty, this victory celebration ceremony cannot be held!"
"Everyone in the world knows that the government troops have suffered a great defeat. If you still insist on going your own way, won't you become a laughing stock in the world?"
"Even the heavens wouldn't..."
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a ray of sunlight fall on his face.
He looked up and realized that the dark clouds had somehow dissipated.
The sky was clear and blue.
Shi Kefa originally intended to use celestial phenomena to persuade the emperor, but he couldn't utter a word.
Zhu Youjian, however, looked up and then murmured:
"Master Gao was absolutely right, the weather really has cleared up today."
Zhu Youjian turned to Shi Kefa and asked, "You said that everyone in the world knows about the great defeat of the government troops. Who are you referring to as 'everyone in the world'?"
Shi Kefa was taken aback, unsure how to respond.
However, Zhu Youjian took the initiative to speak.
"The people you're referring to in the world can't just be the ministers in the capital, or you scholars, but also the gentry in Jiangnan!"
Shi Kefa was speechless, wanting to explain, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Seeing this, Zhu Youjian didn't press him, but instead smiled.
"Scholar Shi, whether the soldiers have been defeated or not, you will know by seeing it with my own eyes."
Shi Kefa also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then the students will wait and see!"
The emperor's entourage finally set off, heading out of the city.
The carriages of the city's ministers also hurriedly followed.
However, the ministers also sensed that something was amiss.
"For many days in a row, the sky has been overcast, but today it is suddenly clear and sunny. The heavens are so kind to us. Could it be that the imperial court has really won a battle?"
But some ministers tried to reassure themselves: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could the Jurchens be so easily defeated?!"
"It's most likely that Master Gao performed some kind of ritual and specially summoned a just and upright official!"
At this point, they would rather admit to supernatural forces than acknowledge that the imperial court had won the battle.
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